Abuja-Kaduna rail records N5m in 2 weeks

– The Abuja-Kaduna rail has recorded high patronage since it was commissioned by President Buhari
– Mr Ikhiria said noted that there were still lapses but changes were being made
– He said in two weeks, it has recorded N5 million
It seems the federal government’s investment in the Abuja-Kaduna rail is already yielding dividend as it recorded N5 million income within the first two weeks of operation,
President Muhammadu Buhari commissioned the rail line on Tuesday, July 26 and in his speech applauded the Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan administration for the project which he eventually completed.
NAN reports that Mr Fidet Ikhiria who is the acting managing director of Nigerian Railway Corporation gave this information on Saturday, August 14.
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Ikhiria said: “In the first week of operation, we made N2.2 million; in the second week, we made N2.9 million.
“This is the third week of operation; the last week report showed that we had almost 5,000 passengers in six days.
”We have capacity for 320 passengers per trip; for now, the maximum we can carry per trip is 320.
”So, for a day, the maximum number of passengers we can have is 1000.”
He admitted that some operational lapses were still recorded but the management was working towards solving them.

He also said the fencing of the tracks would commence before the end of August.
“Some passengers with economy class tickets are coming to sit on the first class coach because the economy class is filled up.
”We are going to do more enlightenment on this at the station and communities levels.”
He explained that the train moved at 90 kilometres per hour from the initial 70 kilometres per hour but would get to 150 kilometres per hour in due course.

“The slow speed of the train is to avoid accidents as people living close to the tracks have yet to get used to the movement of train.”
“By next week, our scanners will be in place; I am also discussing with Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) to deploy more men.
“We have armed policemen on board and some security personnel without uniform.”